Private Project

Family Album

British photographer Samara Pearce travels from London to Ukraine during the war. Her great-grandfather, Austrian Alexander Wienerberger, was an accidental witness to the Holodomor in Ukraine in 1932-1933 and took historic photos of starving Kharkiv. Samara wants to follow in her great-grandfather's footsteps and take her own photos of the genocide of Ukrainians that continues to this day.

  • Maryna Tkachuk
    Director
  • Maryna Tkachuk
    Writer
  • Andrii Korniienko
    Producer
  • Samara Pearce
    Key Cast
  • Vyacheslav Rakovskyi
    DOP
  • Project Title (Original Language):
    Сімейний альбом
  • Project Type:
    Documentary
  • Genres:
    Drama, War
  • Runtime:
    1 hour 19 minutes 30 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    March 31, 2024
  • Production Budget:
    180,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    Ukraine
  • Country of Filming:
    Austria, Ukraine, United Kingdom
  • Language:
    English, German, Ukrainian
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    2,35 : 1
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Maryna Tkachuk

Maryna Tkachuk is a documentary filmmaker, director, and journalist. She has worked as a scriptwriter and editor for Ukrainian television channels such as '5 channel', STB, Novyi channel, and Suspilne. Marуna has collaborated on documentary projects as a scriptwriter, editor, and director with Ukrainian media companies including 'Dobranich Film,' Screen Media Ukraine, and 'Parallel Studio,' as well as with the French media company 'Bonne Pioche.' Maryna Tkachuk is the director and scriptwriter of the documentary film 'Three Ivans' (Screen Media Ukraine, 2018). She graduated from the Journalism Institute of Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

The struggle of Ukrainians for survival, statehood, and identity has lasted for centuries. Russia, as the successor to the Soviet regime, has been continuously oppressing Ukrainians. It is important to note that this fact is not widely known, leading to a lack of understanding of the causes of the current conflict in Ukraine among the global community and even some Ukrainians. The Holodomor of 1932-1933 and the current extermination of Ukrainians by Russia are events in the same logical historical chain. The movie Family Album clearly demonstrates this. Our documentary explores the striking similarities between the Holodomor and the current war through the family history of British photographer Samara Pearce and her great-grandfather, Austrian Alexander Wienerberger. Both events occurred in the same region, employed similar methods of genocide, had the same goal, and were driven by the same source of evil - Russia. The documentary focuses on a man with a camera as a symbol of truth and the pursuit of justice. A concerned Austrian and his British great-granddaughter care about the fate of Ukrainians.
They have evidence of the crimes - their photographs. They want to tell the truth about the genocide in Ukraine to the whole world.During the Holodomor, the world remained indifferent to the suffering of Ukrainians. Will the world's democracy have the courage and unity to defend Ukraine from the Russian aggressor today?